Portable wick type oil heater



Aug. 8, 1950 w. e. FOSTER ETAL PORTABLE WICK TYPE OIL HEATER Filed March5, 1946 INVENTORS lVa/fih 6 Foster P/cfiar'd C gape/dander ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 8, 1950 PORTABLE WICK TYPEOIL HEATER Wallin G. Foster andRichard C. Oppenlander, Denver, 0010.

Application March 5, 1946, Serial No. 652,076

This invention relates to portable oil burning heaters and moreparticularly to heaters of the distillate burning type adapted to keepinternal combustion engines of automobiles or other craft stored inunheated places, warm, among other uses.

7 A principal objectof'this invention is to provide such a portable oilheater of improved construction and of presently available materials.

Another object of the invention is to so construct such a heater thatthere is less chance of the vaporization and combustion chambers thereofbecoming disturbed upon use, to better insure against the chance ofaccident. 7

Other and further objects will be apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of the heater, with a partof thesnufling'cylinder broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View of the heater, shownwithout the handle;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal staggered sectional view looking down on theplane of the staggered line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the burner head vaporizing andcombustion chambers looking downwardly upon the lines 44 of Fig. 2.

We provide our heater with a reservoir l0, preferabl of metal, forcontaining'kerosene or other suitable fuel, having a handle I l andfilling cup or opening l2 having air intake vents l3 for entrance of airin the cap l4. The cap, with the vents l3, acts as a flame adjuster, bycontrolling the amount of air which passes through the holes in the cap.The holes or ventilating openings I3 are preferably arranged near theperiphery o the top portion of cap l4 so that when the cap is screweddown completely upon the threaded nipple or member I 2, the inwardlydirected flange of said member will close or seal-said openings and thuscut ofi the inflow of air to the reservoir Ill. It will be understoodthat by unscrewing or loosening the threaded cap or closure l4, air inadditional quantities may enter through the openings or vents l3.Arounda' central opening I5, through the top of the reservoir, weprovide a circular U-shaped collar reservoir IS with upstanding sidewalls, as illustrated, in which we insert an asbestos ring wick H. Inthis reservoir I6 we place preferably a tablespoon of denatured alcoholand then light the primer wick H, for

producing priming heat to cause vaporization of the heating fuel fromreservoir l and tolight the burner, as will be more fully explained. The

'7 Claims. (Cl. 126-96) ing wall of the opening [5, and in that space issnugly and removably inserted a circular perforated metal shell [8, openat the top and bottom thereof.

Inside the shell I8 and resting on the upstanding wall of the centeropening I5, is a circular disc or burner head 30, having perforations30a and a central opening 3! in which a wick tube 32 is fastened forcarrying a suitable woven wick 33. Inwardl protruding ears l9 are cut inthe shell l8 just above the head 30 and are arranged to hold the burnerhead 30 in place over the opening l5 as long as'the shell I3 is inplace, as illustrated. Fastened to the underface of the burner head 30is a fine mesh wire screen 34. Spaced midway between the wick 33 and theshell I8, and fastened to the top of the burner head, is a circularupstanding spacer flange 35, as illustrated, adapted to snugly andremovably receive the open lower end of a perforated vaporizing chambermember indicated generally as V. A baflle plate 36 is providedat thelower end of the wick tube.

The vaporizing chamber member V comprises an inverted round metalcan-shaped member with the walls of perforated metal, closed at the topand open at the bottom, having the round wall shell portion 31' snuglyand removably fit at the bottom down around the outside edge of theflange 35, and a solid. metal top portion 38 with outwardly extendingfingers or holding means 39. The fingers 39 protrude outwardly on top ofshell l8 ta prevent removal of that shell when the vaporizing chamber isin place. Similarly, the burner'head 30 is held in place, asillustrated, by the vaporizing'chamber member V'wall portion 31 pressingdownwardly against flange seat 35, as well as the fingers 39 pressingthe ears IQ of the shell l8 downwardly on the burner head, so that whenthe vaporizing chamber member V is placed as illustrated, the entireburner assembly is held in place thereby. As assembled, space 5| withinthe member V is the vaporizing chamber, and the space between the shellsl8 and 31 comprises the combustion chamber.

Near the lower part of wall portion 31 of the vaporizing chamber memberV, we provide several larger draft vent openings 52, cut into the wall31. v

At'the top of the vaporizing chamber member V, we fasten'an upstandinginverted U- shaped metal bracket 53 to which, at the extreme top, asillustrated in Fig. 2 we fasten a perforated metal h'eat dispersion disk54.

Inside the outer upstanding wall portion of the collar priming reservoirI6, we snugly and removably insert the open end of a finely perforatedcylindrical metal member 55 open at the bottom only, to act as a safetyscreen to completely enclose the burner elements. The safety screenmember 55 is removably held and attached to the wall of the collarreservoir by means of the common bayonet joint 55. Inside the safetyscreen member 55, and spaced with relation to the dispersion disk 54 soas to press snugly downwardly on that disk 54 when the safety member 55is in place as illustrated, for normally holding the vaporizing chambermember V in place, we provide a metal cross stop means or bar 51fastened to the upright wall portion of the safety screen member 55.Obviously, when the safety screen is held in place during operation byits joint 56, it will in turn through elements 51, 54, 53, 38, 39, 58,I9 and 31 respectively, acting as connecting means, all pressingdownwardly, hold the vaporizing chamber in place, and the vaporizingchamber in turn will hold the combustion chamber and burner head inplace with respect to the reservoir, resulting in a safer burner byvirtue of that inter-relation or cooperation of parts.

We provide a vertical upwardly sliding lighting gate 53 in the lowerwall of the safety screen 55 normally held closed by the spring 59, forclosing a small opening in that cone 55. A lighted match may be insertedby raising the gate 58 for lighting the primer wick II by lifting thegate 58 after the primer fuel has been inserted inv the collar or primerreservoir IE and after the screen 55 has been replaced and secured bythe joint 56.

We provide an inverted removable cup-shaped snufiing cylinder Hi ofmetal without any perfo rations, for extin uishing the flame inside theburner wh n desired, after being in. use.

To use the heater, the reservoir H1 is filled about full with fuel suchas kerosene, andthe,

snuffing cylinder Ill is removed, and also the safety screen 55 isremoved. A tablespoon of denatured alcohol primer fuel is applied to:the

circular primer wick II and collar reservoir I6. The safety screen IE!is then. replaced and fastened at 56, by turning the screen clockwiseand the burner is started by in erting a lighted match through thelighting gate 58.. The heat-from theprimer fuel heats the entire burnerand causes a volatilization of, the heating fuel in. the vaporizationchamber SI, and ignites the vapor which e capes from that chamber to thecombustion chamber 5!) between the. two perforated. shells. Afterexhaustion of the primer fuel the burner continues to burn with a hotflame in that com bustion chamber 513,-. The heat is spreadthroughoutthe interior of the safety screen by the dispersion disk 54. The size ofthat. flame is regulated by the ad ustment of the air intake: vents !3,of the intake cap M with relation to the shoulder of the cup I2, byopening. or closing, those air vents with relation to that shoulder.Combustion mixture air is drawn through the perforations of the safetyscreen 5.5. As air canenter through the, safety screen perforations, butflame cannot pass. from the interior to the exterior thereof, there isno liability of explosion or danger of accidental fire in this preferredembodiment of our invention. The perforations through the shells I8 and37:, and the draft vents in 31, permit a draft across the wick which:assists the ca illary actions of the wick directly proportioned to thatdraft, fora. drawing? up ofv the fuel and ignition thereof. The flame isso protected that an average wind cannot extinguish it, but anelimination of the oxygen by use of the snuifer cylinder IQ, afterclosing draft intake vents i3, is required to completely extinguish theflame. The safety screen is economical to manufacture and the smoothinner surface thereof can be occasionally easily cleaned, so as to keepthe sizeable perforations free of soot and carbon which forms on theinside thereof, over other materials which might be used for a safetymember, such as wire screen. The safety screen of perforated metal needsno guard and is less apt to be punctured in use.

To attach the heater onto a suitable place where desired, such as to across bar under the hood of a car, we provide a metal handle or bail I2,pivotally mounted at lugs or ears I I, attached to the collar I6, withthe top end of the bail curved for convenience in use to hook over asupport (not shown). Onto that portion of the handle, in use, wepreferably apply or attach an asbestos sheet (not shown), as a heatdeflector, to preserve adjacent paint surfaces of the hood. of. the caror other object being heated, where necessary.

The burner can be used in an emergency as a road flare or signal light,by removing the safety screen 55 and also removing the vaporizingchamber member V and lighting the center wick direct. In such use, themembers 55 and V are not replaced, but the shell I8 is kept in placeand: acts as a wind guard, permitting burning for a long time in a highwind.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the inventionin detail, it is to be understood that many modifications and changescan be made therein by those skilled: in the art without deviating fromthe spirit and intent of our invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

What we claim. is:

1. In a burner, in combination, a fuel reservoir, a wick arranged infuel-conductive relation with the reservoir, a vaporizing. chambermember disposed. over thewick, a burner head in which an end portion ofsaid wick is sup ported, a combustion. chamber member around thevaporizing chamber member, a safety screen seated on the reservoir in aposition to enclose:

the burner head and. chamber membera. and cooperative means comprising abracket on the vaporizing chamber member and a. cross bar on the safetyscreen arranged in contacting relation with said chamber members tomaintain said chamber members against. relative movement.

when the screen is seated on: the reservoir.

2, In a burner, in. combination, a fuel reservoir, a wick arranged infuel-conductive relation with the reservoir; a vaporizingchamber'm'ember' disposed over the wick, a: burner head by which an endportion of said wick is supported, a combustion chamber member aroundthe vaporizing chamber, a safety screen seated: on the reservoir in aposition to enclose the burner head and chamber members, cooperativebracket and cross bar means onthe. vaporizing chamber member and thesafety screen, respectively, arranged in contacting relation with saidmembers for holding;

3. In a burner, in combination, a fuel reservoir; a wick" arranged infuel-conductive relation with the reservoir, a vaporizing-chamber memberdisposed over the wick, abur'ner head "removably carriedbythe reservoir'and in-which an end of said wick is supported, said vaporizing chambermember being removably mounted on the burner head, a combustion chambermember removably mounteduponthe reservoir and surrounding the vaporizingchamber member in spaced relation thereto, a safety screen removablyattached to said reservoir and enclosing the burner head and the twochamber'members, said reservoir and burner head having upstandingflanges, said vaporizing chamber member having fingers and saidcombustion chamber member having ears, connecting means including saidcombustion chamber member cooperating with said upstanding flanges,fingers, and ears for maintaining the burner headin place upon said fuelreservoir, and stop means including a substantially horizontal barcarried by the safety screen and engageable with the vaporizing chambermember to hold the parts in operative relationship.

4. In a burner, in combination, a fuel reservoir, a burner headremovably carried by the reservoir and having a wick therein infuel-conductive relationship with said reservoir, a vaporizing chambermember removably mounted upon the burner head and having outwardlyextending fingers, a combustion chamber member removably carried by thereservoir surrounding the vaporizing chamber member and spaced from thevaporizing chamber member, said combus tion chamber member having itsupper edge engaging said fingers, a safety screen removably carried bythe reservoir and enclosing the vapor-- izing chamber member and thecombustion chamber member, connecting means including said combustionchamber member disposed between the safety screen and the burner headcooperating with said fingers for maintaining the burner head in placeupon the fuel reservoir, and stop means including a cross bar carried bythe safety screen and engageable with an upper portion of the vaporizingchamber member to prevent movement of the safety screen beyond apredetermined position toward the reservoir.

5. In a burner structure, in combination, a fuel reservoir having acentrally disposed top opening, a burner head having a wick and restingover said opening with the wick arranged in fuel-conductiverelationship, a vaporizing chamber member disposed over the upper endportion of the wick and engaging the burner head, a combustion chambermember disposed around the head and the vaporizing chamber member andengaging said head at points spaced outwardly from the vaporizingchamber meniber, a heat dispersion disc member spaced above thevaporizing chamber member and supported by the vaporizing chambermember, holding means carried by the vaporizing chamber member andengaging the combustion chamber member for maintaining the latter inplace, a safety screen enclosing the vaporizing and combustion chambersand the heat dispersion disc, said safety screen being removablyattached to the reservoir and having an openable lighting gate in a wallthereof, and stop means carried by the safety screen and en gageablewith an upper portion of the vaporizing chamber member whereby tomaintain the cooperating parts of the burner in proper posi- 6;" tionupon the'res'er'voir and against accidental displacement duringoperation of the burner.

"6.' A burner structure according to claim 5,

wherein a collar priming reservoir and a ring" priming wick are providedin surrounding re-- lationship to said vaporizing and combustion chambermembers, and wherein thejburner'structure includes"aflame-snuffingmember which is adapted to be invertedover the-safety screen toextinguish; the flame. of the burner.

'7. In a burner, in combination, a fuel reservoir having an intake cupand a removable and adjustable perforated cap, said reservoir having acentral opening in its upper wall surrounded by an upstanding flange, aprimer collar reservoir having inner and outer upstanding flangessecured to the fuel reservoir and surrounding said opening, said innerflange being spaced outwardly from the said upstanding flange, a primerring wick disposed within the primer collar reservoir, a perforatedburner head disposed upon said upstanding flange and having a tubecarrying a wick in fuel-conductive relationship to the reservoir, ascreen fastened to the underside of the burner head and a baffie platecarried by the tube and spaced from and beneath the screen to provide abaffle for the central opening in the reservoir, an annular uprightspacer flange secured to the top portion of the burner head intermediatethe central opening and the perimeter of said head, a burner wickdisposed within the tube, a perforated shell removably seated in thespace between the reservoir upstanding flange and the inner flange ofthe collar reservoir, a vaporizing chamber member comprising an invertedcanshaped member having perforated walls, a closed top and an openbottom disposed over the upper end of said wick, the top portion of thevaporizing chamber member carrying outwardly extending fingers and alsohaving a dispersion disc, said vaporizing chamber member being removablyseated at its lower open end upon the intermediate spacer flange and inspaced relationship to the perforated shell to provide a combustionchamber, said fingers being adapted to rest upon the top of said shellwhen the shell and the vaporizing chamber member are seated, said shellhaving inwardly projecting ears near its lower portion resting upon theburner head when the shell is seated, an inverted cylindrical safetyscreen formed from perforated metal having a foraminous top portion andbeing open at its bottom, said safety screen being adapted to beremovably seated upon the outer upstanding flange of the primer collarreservoir for enclosing the wick and burner elements, said screen havingdisposed in a wall thereof adjacent its bottom a slidable lighting gate,spring means for holding the gate normally in closed position, a stopmember disposed within and carried by the safety screen transverselythereof, said stop member being adapted to rest upon the dispersion discwhen the safety screen is seated upon the structure, means for removablylocking the safety screen to the reservoir whereby to hold thevaporizing chamber member onto the burner head and to maintain the othercooperable parts in position to permit the safe use of the burner, andsnufling means operatively associated with the structure forextinguishing the burner.

WALLIN G. FOSTER. RICHARD C. OPPEN'LANDER.

(References on following page) ans-mam v REFERENGES CITED Number NameDate The? following references are of re'cordlin the 2 s i 3 8 me ofthispament, 233,395 Irwm Mair. 1,1881 i v 559,153 Upton ..7 Apr. 28', 1896UNLTED STATES PATENTS 2,271,076 Hu'pfer' Jan. 27,. 1942 Number 7 NameDate.

Re'-.15;4I-8 Tho'rp May 20, 187-3' FOREIGN PATENTS 553033 Morrill v May22, 1866 200,913 Howse- H Mar. 5, 1878' Number Cmmtry Date 223,398Shields Jan. 6, 188-0 10 405,156 Great Britain Feb. 1, 1934.

